This invention relates to a support assembly.
This invention has particular, but not exclusive application to a support assembly for supporting a person when moving about on a roof of a vehicle, and for illustrative purposes reference will be made to same. However, it will be appreciated that the invention may be used in other applications where it is desirable to provide support for persons when engaged in activities that could result in them suffering a fall and injuring themselves, such as working on elevated structures, including buildings and bridges, or on moving structures, such as a pitching deck of a ship.
Most road and rail vehicles that are used to transport oil or other liquids in bulk include an elongate storage vessel having a generally elliptical transverse cross-section and a narrow, possibly arcuate, roof. Typically the storage vessel includes at least one inlet that is formed in the roof.
From time to time it is necessary, whether this be for maintenance or for filling the vessel, for persons to access the opening. Because of the narrowness of the roof and/or its arcuate shape, persons when walking and working on the roof have been known to lose their balance, resulting in a fall that can cause serious injuries.
Various safety apparatus for use by persons who are required to move about on elevated structures, such as the roof of a vehicle, are known. Typically the safety apparatus includes an elongate guide that is mounted on the structure and a support structure having a base that is adapted to engage said guide and which is capable of movement along said guide. The safety apparatus may also include a harness that the person can wear, and which itself is capable of being secured to the support structure.
Unfortunately, because of the design of the safety apparatus referred to above, typically the safety apparatus can only be accessed by persons once they are standing on the roof structure. Further, in order to stand on the roof structure, often it is necessary for the person to climb up a ladder and over an edge of the roof structure, which itself could cause the person to fall and hurt themselves.